Did you even know that stationary (or what we view to be stationary) objects can make sounds? Richard Hannon, central Ohio photographer, writer, blogger, and field sound recordist, can tell you they most certanly do.
On Sunday, Oct. 2, Hannon ventured out to the park to record Rastin Tower with speciallized equipment to capture the sound of the Rastin Tower. It's pretty fascinating!
Over the past few years, Hannon has recorded other resonant metal structures, including the historic John A Roebling Suspension bridge over the Ohio River, the fire tower at Mohican State Park, and several metal windmills owned by Amish farmers in the area. Most recently he has recorded the sound of the wind turbine outside the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.
He uses special contact microphones, in conjunction with regular microphones to make the recordings. Contact mics, usually used for recording piano, harpsichord and alike, pick up vibrations. When wind brushes alongside the metal, there is, more times than not, a unique sound signature that we cannot hear with our “naked” ears.
(Photo by Margaret Tilson. Image courtesy www.evocativesound.com.)
